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satyanash

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Posts posted by satyanash

  1. With Diaz, another factor was that the novelty of his defense wore off after the first year. Opposing OCs now had extra film to pore over and figure out where, when, and how to attack the defense and their players became aware of our tendencies. Don't be surprised if something similar happens this year.

  2. Ian Boyd: Malcolm Roach at Rover...Mac?

    Yesterday @josephcook reported that the staff used Roach some at Rover in practice with Gary Johnson out. I noted that the move from B-backer where Roach had been playing at spring and Rover wasn't too extreme so it would make sense if Roach could play there. I also noted that Roach being able to play Mac in the "lightning" package would be amazing. @Eric Nahlin then pressed me with this question:

    Quote

    Can you explain this? McCulloch was crosstrained for a time between B and Mac but I hear he wouldn’t have a chance to play Rover because of stiffness. Roach obviously isn’t stiff but he’s big as hell. To me this tinkering speaks poorly of Freeman more than anything else.

    To be sure, the cleanest takeaway is that the staff doesn't think much of Freeman. The assignments of Rover and B-backer in coverage can often be similar because they are both positioned on the boundary and much of Orlando's strategy is built around having the two best-pass-rushers both aligned over there so that the offense can't be sure which one will make the typical weakside LB coverage drop and which one will blitz:

    r-or-b-blitz-jpg.24751

    That coverage drop to the flat or hook zone has to be taught to both the Rover and the B-backer so there's a lot of consistency there in terms of that play. "Cover the boundary slot in a confined space, blitz the edge, or stunt inside" sums up most of the pass defense roles played by both the Rover and the B-backer. The big difference is in run defense. The B-backer is a force defender on the edge who's playing downhill, taking on a tackle or tight end, and just maintaining the edge. The Rover is scraping and playing behind the Mac and the B-backer who do more of the grunt work in terms of taking on lead blocks.

    On a running play the B-backer becomes more of a proper DE/OLB hybrid while the Rover becomes more of a proper weak side LB rather than a ILB/spinner hybrid. The Mac's role in coverage is similar to the B-backer or the Rover, he'll drop and wall a slot up to a safety or pick up the RB. Against the run he's reading flow and trying to get downhill quickly to blow up a block and box or spill the ball to the Rover or to a DB. Playing run D as a Mac is more complicated than as a B-backer where it's always just "box this in for the Rover" and that guy has to be able to think on the move. So if the word on McCulloch is that he's too stiff for Rover I'm sure the concern is his ability to move "sideline to sideline" in run defense when playing as a proper weak side LB whereas at Mac or B-backer he'd just be getting downhill.

    If the staff really thinks Roach has the change of direction to run as a rover that's pretty impressive and it sets up Texas nicely to still have a dynamic playmaker in what becomes the primary pass-rush position in the 3-2-6 lightning package if Gary Johnson is injured during the season. If Roach took well to reading flow and playing the run as an ILB while playing Rover, I wonder if he could play the Mac position. For the reasons I listed above it'd be a tough job because you have to read and get downhill very quickly. But if he could do it that would allow Texas to play a dime package that looked like this:

    D6R84nh.png

    I still prefer Locke in the dime role with Bonney as boundary safety but I guess currently the staff has Bonney as the dime. Anyways, assuming that Bonney is a better player than Wheeler (pretty plausible) then this arrangement would allow Texas to get the best 11 on the field. The hangup is that Malcolm Roach would have to learn to play one of the more cerebral positions on the field which is a rather tall order in a single offseason.

  3. E.J. Holland: Texas recruiting notes from Swoosh 7v7 practice

    — Elite 2020 Southlake Carroll defensive back RJ Mickens said Texas is one of the schools standing out the most to him early on. Mickens believes he is very close to earning an offer from the Longhorns and wants to get back on campus for a visit soon. The four-star prospect actually spoke to Texas Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington a few days ago, and the two had a productive conversation. It wouldn’t be surprising if that offer does come in the near future.

    — Darius Snow, the nation’s top safety in the 2020 class, said he had a great conversation with Texas safeties coach Craig Naivar this week. Snow was actually supposed to visit this weekend but had some schedule conflicts. Snow said he is looking to visit the weekend after next or for the spring game on April 21. He has high interest in the Longhorns.

    — There hasn’t been much movement with Coppell defensive back Jonathan McGill since I reported on him last week. He is keeping in touch with the Texas staff and hopes to make a visit at some point this spring. McGill would be an excellent fit at the nickel position, but right now, the Longhorns are going all in on Jalen Catalon.

    — Some 2020 prospects that Texas is keeping tabs on are Rockwall wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Aledo wide receiver Money Parks and Keller Central athlete DJ Graham. All three hold P5 offers and will continue to rise this spring. Smith-Njigba and Parks visited Texas last summer and hope to get back this summer.

  4. Highlights of Federer's 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 victory over James Blake to win the 2006 Tennis Masters Cup. This was Roger at his most dominant; his 2006 season was the greatest season by a men's singles player since Rod Laver's calendar slam in 1969.

    Blake actually played very well in this game, after beating Nadal earlier in the tournament. But he was swept aside by peak Federer.

     

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